The Spanish Elefant label spends years releasing singles, EPs, and albums that are gifts for lovers of sweetly sung, perfectly crafted indie pop, so why not do something special for Xmas? For
A Christmas Gift for You from Elefant Records, they rounded up an impressive lineup of acts and gave them the mission of concocting new holiday songs. From the spunky punky "You Trashed My Christmas" by the ageless
Primitives to the sugar rush of
the School's "You're Coming Home Tonight" -- and the large number of songs that take the classic
Phil Spector Christmas album as a template -- the artists all rise to the challenge and dole out brightly wrapped, thoughtfully chosen presents that are warm and festive. Any indie pop lover would be totally stoked to find that the jolly fat guy had left this wonderful package under the tree. ~ Tim Sendra